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Friday, 11 February 2011

Chelsea set to lose out to Barcelona in Neymar race

Chelsea are set to miss out on Santos star Neymar as Barcelona look likely to secure a deal for the teenager.
The Catalan club's president Sandro Rosell has secured the services of manager Pep Guardiola on a new 12-month contract and now he has his sights set on signing one of South America's hottest prospects.
Rosell, a former executive at Nike, is planning to use his close relationship with the American sports brand that sponsors Neymar and the Brazilian national team to lure him to the Nou Camp - as he did when he took Ronaldinho there in 2003.
Rosell is also reported, in Spanish newspaper El Confidential, to have met with the player's agent Wagner Ribeiro about a possible deal.
Barca's chief scout Alber Valentín has publicly praised the 19-year recently saying: "He is a player that would insert perfectly in the philosophy of play at Barcelona. He has talent and physical attributes and when you combine the two aspects you have a very big player."
Chelsea were reported to have had a £17m bid for the player rejected in the summer after former Santos legend Pele urged the youngster to stay at the club.